As DC Comics’ Rebirth initiative enters its second month, the publisher is done with the first wave of Rebirth one-shots and has moved onto the first set of brand new #1 issues. As The Flash Rebirth #1 was one of my favorites out of said first batch of one-shots, I was highly anticipating The Flash #1 from the same creative team of writer Joshua Williamson and artist Carmine Di Giandomenico.

The issue begins with a quick recap of how Barry Allen aka The Flash gained his superpowers. In the present day, we see that Barry is still preoccupied with what he learned in the DC Universe Rebirth #1 comic. To get his mind off it, Barry is running himself ragged, both as Flash and in his civilian identity as a CSI for the Central City Police Department, including working a case that reunites him with a former colleague from his early days with the department.

Barry’s so distracted that he nearly misses a lunch date with Iris West and her nephew Wally West (the New 52 version of the character, not the recently returned original version of the character). Just after he arrives though, he’s pulled away by two disasters happening at the same time: a fire and an armored car robbery. He chooses to deal with the fire first, saving several people. However, that choice may end up costing him the life of someone he cares about.

The Flash Rebirth #1, along with Titans and Green Arrow, was one of my favorite Rebirth one-shots mainly due to the creative team. I really liked the way Williamson wrote Barry in that issue, and that continues here. The idea of Flash being so preoccupied with something that he continuously tries to stop crime just to get his mind off of it is an interesting one to me. It really takes advantage of the character’s specific power-set to tell a story in a way that nearly no other comic book character could.

I did find myself a bit hesitant to embrace the issue’s ending. Without spoiling things too much, it implies that the book is going to create a new version of a previous Flash villain. While I have no issue new incarnations of old characters, I would rather a whole new concept introduced instead of repurposing a previous power-set for a new character.

Once again, I felt a bit lukewarm on Di Giandomenico’s art. Same as the Rebirth issue, I just find his style a bit to angular and hard for the Flash. Though I will say, the sequence where Barry was rescuing several people from a burning building was really impressive.

While The Flash #1 didn’t live up to its Rebirth potential the way Green Arrow #1 did, it’s still a very entertaining read. I would definitely recommend it to Flash fans weary of the effects Rebirth would have on the character. I just hope that my apprehension about the ending is proven to be unfounded.